Eid Reflections

“And when Abraham said: My Lord, make this city secure and save me and my sons from the worship of idols” – Surah Ibrahim v.35

As the occasion of another Eid comes to pass, we would be remiss to not pass some form of reflection on the dedication of the man this holiday seeks to celebrate. Over four thousand years ago when humanity stooped to crude idolatry and moral degeneration became embedded with material progress,  there came a man of vision and towering personality who exerted tremendous effort and dedication in redirecting humanity back to the worship of God. In this blog post, I will attempt to articulate certain critical lessons we can learn from the Prophet Ibrahim.

The very first lesson that can be drawn from the life of the Prophet Ibrahim is the immense importance of keeping an open mind as well as critically engaging with opposing viewpoints. The Quran extensively mentions the quest for truth that was embarked upon by Ibrahim. After quickly becoming dissatisfied with the worship of idols and statues, he became mesmerized by the appearance and majesty that was given off by celestial bodies (stars, moon and the sun). However, his mind was always open to the possibility that these bodies may not be the God that he was searching for. Upon the setting of the stars, moon as well as the sun, Ibrahim came to the conclusion that they could possibly not be the Creator as they lacked the omnipotence that he believed God must possess. The critical engagement of the Prophet is shown to us when he confronts a King who would tell people that he was Allah. Ibraham responded that “it is certainly Allah who causes the sun to rise from east, can you instead bring it from the west?” In challenging him and concisely dispatching the bizarre arguments put forward by him, he illustrated to us the correct way of engaging with those whose theology differs from ours. Allah Almighty commands in the Quran to “invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best” (16:125). Surely these examples can serve as the ultimate model for how we should conduct our searches for the truth as well as invite others to partake on this journey with us.

An alternative lesson that can be gauged from the Prophet Ibrahim is to have strong faith and determination in all that you do. Upon receiving the message from God, he made a commitment to bring the truth to the people with whom he resided. One of the more touching exchanges that happened as a result of this commitment was one he had with his father. The Prophet strongly pled with his father to consider Islam and told him that “my father, I sincerely fear a punishment from God overtakes you and you become a companion of the Devil”. Imagine knowing the punishment that awaited those who rejected the message and being unable to avert that from falling upon your own father! Imagine the pain that must have went through the Prophet as he realized that his words were falling on deaf ears! Now imagine the heavy heart that he must have had as he left his father knowing that there was a very minimal chance of change. Despite all of this, the Prophet Ibrahim exemplified the defining trait of the great messengers – strong faith and determination in the face of extreme personal adversity. Despite the tremendous tests that plagued the Prophet Ibrahim and all of the Prophets of God – they never wavered in their love and faith in God. This tradition of testing individuals in order to weed out the truthful and strong hearted is rooted in the Islamic scripture and evidenced by the verse in which Allah proclaims: “But We certainly have tried those before them, so God will make evident the truthful and those who are liars”. We can only pray that we excel on the tests that are given to us and come through with higher faith and love of Allah.

The aforementioned lessons are only a few that can be drawn from an illustrious life of service, dedication and total submission to Allah. In his story, we observe the complete picture of what it means to be a believer as well as a caller to the way of God. It is no wonder that the Quran remarks that “And Allah took Ibraham as a khalil (an intimate friend)”.The verse cited at the top of this post is a prayer that Ibraham made to liberate both his soul and the souls of his progeny from subservience, submission and dedication to idols. While in past times, idols manifested themselves in the form of statues – they take on varying unique shapes and forms in our current society. We ask Allah to accept the prayer of our Prophet Ibrahim and save us (his progeny) from worshiping our own souls in lieu of Allah and to mold our hearts in such a way that they will always be receptive to the divine message. We ask Allah to accept the prayer of our Prophet when he asked that “the hearts of people incline towards my progeny”. May you have a Blessed Eid and many more to come.  

Activism - Why Should I Care?

                In an increasingly covetous and greedy world, I sometimes ask myself why I ought to care about social justice issues regarding marginalized communities and those who lack access to instruments of meaningful substantial change. In this post, I’d like to present reasons which offer an insight into why striving for equality and social justice are tasks that are worthwhile as well as fulfilling to the self.

               

                In his famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King Jr wrote “we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly”. This reflection of Dr. King goes to the core essence of the spirit of activism in social justice. Every single person on this planet is associated, irrespective of whether we are directly linked or not. As human beings we all share similar qualities, emotions and experiences and as a single race we are equals, wrapped in the same garments of destiny. We cannot allow ourselves to fall into the trap of thinking that the problems of my neighbour will not have an effect on me eventually. If a certain member of my community is being treated unjustly by the police THAT is my problem. If there are children in my city who do not have access to education and cannot afford to purchase school supplies that is my problem. If there are individuals across this world who yearn for liberty and the right to self-determination then my heart yearns for it as well. It is this precise spirit which allowed the persecuted refugees of Mecca to enter the city of Medina and thrive. The people of the blessed city of Medina extended a warm welcome to the newcomers and illustrated to us the true spirit of pure activism and altruism. In fact, their exhibition was so grand that God mentioned them and stated that “they gave preference to them over their own souls, even though they were in need”. By recognizing that we share the responsibility to mold a collective narrative, one can understand the immense reasoning behind the drive of activism that is found within many.

                The idea of changing the world is one which is often met with tremendous scorn and mocking by a large segment of the population. I recall telling a teacher of mine that I had the ambition to change the world in a great way. She responded by saying that in order to change the world, I had to elicit positivity and negate the deep seated cynicism that resided within me. Roughly ten years later, I understand the wisdom behind her words. Activism is met with vast pessimism, suspicion and cynicism from a population that is disenfranchised with the system. However, one does not need to look too far down the annals of history to see individuals who advocated immensely for their causes and were successful. If we look at the American civil rights movement, it would be hard to disagree with the contention that every single person involved in that movement, from Malcolm X and Dr. King all the way down to the bold men and women who braved fire hoses and dogs in Selma, Alabama, changed the world. It would be impossible to contest that the five women involved in the famous Canadian “Persons Case” (Edwards v. Canada) did not change the world when they appealed to the Privy Council and won the right for women to be considered legal persons. The point which I am making is that every single voice has inherent meaning. These tremendous world changing events listed above would not have been remotely successful had each person involved not been willing to sacrifice their time and energy in the audacious hope for a better tomorrow.

                In conclusion, it is imperative for you to find a cause that you are passionate about and locate like minded people who can assist you in furthering the development of that cause. I have been tremendously lucky to be involved in the Acorn Canada Housing Justice Program. While it started as a volunteer position to gain experience, I have quickly found an incredible passion to serve these individuals who have a barrier to accessing justice because of the socioeconomic status which they find themselves in. As a graduate of English Literature, I often have come across profound pieces of prose which can be contemplated on for hours. In his classic poem “The Road Not Taken”, American poet Robert Frost states “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference”. Not many will choose the difficult road that being an effective activist entails. Nevertheless, the reward of seeing justice and equality perpetuated throughout this great world of ours is a great recompense. And that – that will make all the difference? What will your cause be?